Air diffusing device



Feb. 19, Q LABUS AIR DIFFUSING DEVICE 2 She ets-Sheet 1 Filed May 11, 1953 INVENTOR. OTTO A. LABUS ATTORNEYS Feb. 19, 1957 o. A. LABUS 2,781,715

AIR DIFFUSING DEVICE Filed May 11, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG. 4.

YINVENTOR. O'TTO A. LABUS ATTORNEYS FIG. 5.

United States Patent" AIR DIFFUSING DEVICE Otto A. Labus, La Crosse, Wis., assignor to The Trane Company, La Crosse, Wis.

Application May 11, 1953, Serial No. 353,961

3 Claims. or. 98-40) It is an object of this invention to provide an air diffuser which discharges the air into a'room from a duct in which the pressure is relatively great without creating uncomfortable air movements in the occupied zone of the room.

It is an object of this invention to provide a diiiuser I with a valve for controlling the flow of air as well as silencing noises of air movement in the duct.

It is another object of the invention to provide a diffuser having heating and lighting elements mounted therein.

It is another object of the invention to provide a diffuser which will induce secondary air to moderate the temperature of the air supplied and to reduce its velocity.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following specification taken in connection with the drawings which form part of this application, and in which:

Fig. 1 is a view partly in elevation and partly in section showing the diffuser mounted in the ceiling of a room.

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a bottom plan view of the diffuser.

Fig. 4 is a section view of the fabric bag attached to a horizontal duct.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the bag supporting member.

Referring now to the drawings, numeral 10 designates a duct containing air under pressure and to which the diffuser of this invention is attached. The ceiling or wall to which the diffuser is mounted has been shown as having plaster 12, lathes 14, and joists 16. A plenum chamber 18 is supported on the joists 16 by a strap 20 secured to the studs 16 by nails 22. A strap 24 is fastened by screws 26 to the strap 20 to clamp the plenum chamber 18 between the two straps 20 and 24. The plenum chamber 18 has a cap 28 having a hole for receiving nipple 30. Nipple 30 has an outwardly extending rib 32 for engaging one side of cap 28. An elastic ring 34 of rubber or other elastic material is seated in a groove in nipple 30 and engages the other side of cap 28 to hold the nipple 30 to the cap 28. A fabric bag 36 preferably made from cloth material woven or knitted in tubular form is secured to the nipple 30 by a wire 38 the ends of which are twisted to hold it in place. A spring clip 40 having a U-shaped cross section closes the end of the bag 36.

To reduce the air flow from the duct, the area of the bag through which air may flow is reduced by folding the bag upon itself and placing the spring clip 40 on the fold. The bag 40 is preferably a woven or knitted material having threads of substantial diameter in order that the material will have considerable thickness for good sound absorbing characteristics. Although various materials may be used I prefer to use a fabric woven from thread comprised of glass fibers.

2,78 1,7 15 Patented Feb. 19, 1 957 If desired the plenum chamber 18 may be lined on its inside surfaces with a sound absorbing and heat insulating material.

A spider 42 is inserted in the nipple 30 and extends into the bag 36 to support the bag in alignment with the duct as is clearly shown in Fig, 4. The spider 42 may be omitted if desired when the bag 36 is vertically mounted. When it is desired to fold the bag 36 intermediate its ends to reduce the air flow, the spider 42 may be pushed into the duct 10 to the extent necessary for making the fold at the desired point. The spider 42 comprises two U-shaped Wire members spot-welded or otherwise secured together at 43.

A ring 44 is secured to plenum chamber 18 by.bolts 46 which are secured to angle brackets 47 which are spot-welded or otherwise secured to plenum chamber 18. A gasket48 lies in a groove 50 in ring 44 and prevents leakage of air between the plenum chamber 18 and the ring 44. Ring 44 has a flange 52 which engages the wall or ceiling. Extending outwardly from flange 52 are a plurality of bosses 54 to which a deflector 56 is secured by screws 58.

A nozzle ring 60 has two rows of closely spaced outwardly extending nozzles 62 having bell mouth entrances for efficiently and noiselessly discharging the air in a multiplicity of jets. The nozzle ring 60 may be of metal, but in order to avoid condensation when discharging cold air, I prefer to make the ring 60 of a plastic material which has better heat insulating qualities. The protruding jets cause a maximum amount of secondary air to be induced by the flow from the jets. Secondary air will be induced inwardly between the deflector 56 and the flange S2 of ring 44.

A translucent panel 64, preferably of plastic material, closes the end of the diffuser and screws 66 are in threaded engagement with ring 44 to hold panel 64 tightly against nozzle ring 60 and to hold nozzle ring 60 tightly against ring 44. I prefer to make the screws 66 of plastic material to prevent condensation from forming on them when the diffuser is discharging cold air.

Heaters 68 in the form of electric lights are mounted on brackets 70 in plenum chamber. During periods when the dry bulb is approximately 70 and the humidity is high it is desirable to supply dehumidified air and yet some reheat is necessary. In such cases the occupant may turn on the electric heaters 68. During periods When the lights are needed for illumination the heat therefrom increases the temperature of the air discharged and thus minimizes the problem of condensation forming on the surfaces of the diifuser. The increased temperature also minimizes the problem of discharging cold air without discomfort to the occupant.

Although I have described in detail the preferred embodiments of my invention, I contemplate that many changes may be made without departing from the scope or spirit of my invention and I desire to be limited only by the claims.

. I claim:

1. A diffuser for discharging air into a conditioned space comprising an enclosure having a flange and being adapted to be mounted in a hole in the wall or ceiling of the conditioned space with a surface of the flange abutting the wall or ceiling, and with a portion of said enclosure extending outwardly into said conditioned space, said enclosure being adapted to be secured in air flow communication with a duct having air under pressure, a tubular porous cloth member in said enclosure and having an open end secured in air flow communication with said duct, means for closing said tubular member at a point spaced from said open end, said outwardly extending portion of said enclosure having a plurality of extending from said plenum chamber and adapted to be secured to a duct having air under pressure, a tubular porous cloth member in said plenum chamber and secured at one end to the inwardly extending portion of said nipple, means for closing said cloth member at a point spaced from said one end, a nozzle ring secured to said plenum chamber and having a plurality of closely spaced nozzles for discharging air from said plenum chamber and an annular frusto conical deflector secured to said plenum chamber in the path of the air discharged from said nozzles.

3. A diifuser for discharging air into a conditioned space comprising an enclosure having an Open end and being adapted to be mounted in a hole in the wall or ceiling of the conditioned space, a first ring secured to the open end of said enclosure, a sealing gasket between said open end of said enclosure and said first ring, said first ring having a surface adapted to abut the wall or ceiling, a second ring secured to said first ring and having a plurality of closely spaced nozzles for discharging air, a translucent cover closing one end of said second ring, means for detachably securing said cover to said second ring, an opening in said enclosure adapted to be secured to a duct having air under pressure, and a tubular porous cloth member in said enclosure and having an open end secured to the opening of said enclosure to receive air under pressure from said duct, means for closing said tubular porous cloth member at a point spaced from said opening, and electric lighting and heating means in said enclosure.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,010,322 Riddell Aug. 6, 1935 2,046,215 Stacey et al June 30, 1936 2,214,821 Lucius Sept. 17, 1940 2,378,012 Herbster June 12, 1945 2,385,682 Burkholder Sept. 25, 1945 FOREIGN PATENTS 63,356 Denmark Apr. 9, 1945 

